Bowers & Wilkins to open new UK R&D centre

John Bowers established the Steyning Research & Engineering facility in 1981. Now it's time to expand.

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Steyning, West Sussex, has been the cradle of every Bowers & Wilkins innovation (including, but not restricted to, the Diamond tweeter, Zeppelin speaker, PX headphones and Nautilus loudspeaker) since it was established 37 years ago.

Now the company is moving to a larger (2750 sq m) facility in Southwater, West Sussex - so the SRE abbreviation will continue. Due to open later this year, the new premises will be home to multiple anechoic chambers, a suite of testing and engineering labs, listening rooms, and dedicated Automotive Audio and Headphone testing labs.

It will also feature an Experience Centre, designed to showcase product ranges to partners, press and visitors alike. And there will be a "near-recreation" of John Bowers' original listening room to make sure new Bowers & Wilkins products remain true to his audio principles.

"Our engineers are dedicated to honouring and continuing that legacy today. The new SRE is an extension of our rich sound engineering tradition. It is designed to further the mission of crafting products that deliver incredible sound experiences to our customers and consumers," said Bowers & Wilkins CEO Gideon Yu.

Bowers & WIlkins has increased the size of its R&D staff by over 40 per cent in the past two years. Once the new SRE is up and running, the plan is to recruit further engineering talent.